1. Bills made some of the best value signings according to his former NFL lineman
Retired NFL lineman Geoff Schwartz weighed in on the best value signings during the first wave of free agency for SBNation.com. Schwartz says that value isn't all monetary despite teams having to pay a premium for a day one free agent.
Schwartz praised the Bills for their signings of John Brown, Cole Beasley and Ty Nsekhe on his six-player list. Schwartz says that Josh Allen probably can't overthrow Brown and put it best with a quote from Dallas Cowboy quarterback Dak Prescott who in 2016 said, "Beasley is always open."
He had a little more to say about Nsekhe as he is a former offensive lineman.
Nsekhe, whose career path has been unique, is a young 33-year-old. He's only dressed in 56 NFL games, while starting just 16.
But, whenever he gets an opportunity to play, he's excellent. He's an outstanding pass blocker who uses his big frame to keep himself between the rusher and the quarterback. He moves well in the run game and is powerful. No surprise considering he's 6'8 and 330 pounds. This is an excellent addition for the Bills, who needed offensive line help.
2. LeSean McCoy opens up about Frank Gore signing
The Bills signed Frank Gore last week and formed a running back group that has accumulated the most yards in NFL history. No other pairing of running backs have accumulated more than the 25,354 rushing yards they have combined for throughout their careers. McCoy opened up about the signing for the first-time last week with John Wawrow from the Associated Press.
"There's not a lot of guys in the league right now that can motivate me, especially at running back. But he's the type of guy that can," McCoy said.
The Bills might have offered Gore a contract, but it was McCoy who played a critical role in getting the future Hall of Famer to Orchard Park next season. Gore contacted McCoy when he was informed of the interest by the Bills and said that McCoy is a competitive player and would not mind sharing a role at the position. He added that McCoy said he would love to play with him, and Gore can help him out a lot.
"I said, 'Frank, if you retire, I won't have nobody in the NFL to chase or motivate me,'" McCoy said. "So I said, 'Why don't you come play with us.' "
McCoy looks at Gore as someone he hopes to catch on the all-time rushing list one day.
"Every time I tell myself I'll play three more years and I'll be done, I look at a guy like Frank, who keeps trucking along," McCoy said. "So for myself, he's great for me so I can monitor his game and try to get to where he's at — the Hall of Fame."
3. Matt Milano's year two improvement
Second-year linebacker Matt Milano made a huge leap in 2018. Milano, originally recruited to Boston College as a safety, earned a consistent starting role at linebacker. He started all 13 games for the Bills this year and it paid dividends.
Milano recorded three interceptions, seven passes defended, one sack, 78 total tackles and 12 tackles for a loss. All were increases from his rookie year. Pro Football Focus named Milano as a second-year standout with grading increases across the board.
Milano increased his coverage grade by 19.1 points to a 77.3, his run defense grade 5.8 points to 68.2 and his overall grade 15.9 points from his rookie year to a 76.2 grade. Milano was named the AFC defensive player of the week when the Bills defeated the Vikings 27-6 during week three of the season. Milano finished with 8 tackles, one interception and one fumble recovery.
